The deal allows SNC to “cleanly and quickly reduce our business risk” by exiting oil and gas fixed-price projects, chief executive officer Ian Edwards said Tuesday. SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. agreed to sell its unprofitable oil and gas business to Kentech Corporate Holdings of the United Arab Emirates as the Montreal-based builder sharpens its focus on project management and nuclear energy. The deal will probably close by mid-year, SNC said Tuesday in a news release . It didn’t disclose financial terms, other than to say the transaction’s “net cash impact” is expected to be minimal. SNC also said it would book $480 million worth of provisions and writedowns of receivables in the fourth quarter following a review of outstanding litigation and commercial claims and a reassessment of expenses associated with the completion of Canadian fixed-cost projects. SNC plans to unveil fourth-quarter results in the next few weeks. The asset sale closes the book on SNC’s global foray in energy services — an expansion accelerated by the 2014 acquisition of Kentz Corp. and its 14,500 employees. SNC paid about $2 billion for Kentz, which operated in 36 countries at the time, to expand in oil and gas just as crude prices […]
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